Anastos recently re-upped for three years at over a million a year, reports Michael Wilson.

Inevitably the profile covers what Wilson terms Anastos’ “spectacular gaffe” from September 16, where a certain on-air malapropism inadvertently made Anastos a star well beyond the tri-state area, and overshadowed much of the work the guy has done for the last few decades. Anastos actually asks the reporter not to include the incident, which is a guaranteed way to get a NY Times reporter to mention in print what you don’t want them to mention.

He explains the malaprop’s origins: ”My grandmother, she would have a live chicken,” he said. “I would pluck the chicken. I would help her out.”

Fowl language aside, “The Importance of Being Ernie” is a fun look at a day in the life of the anchor/children’s book author/TV icon/YouTube star. Here’s one description of Anastos’ enduring appeal to viewers:

“Perfectly straightforward, sensible, easy, New York,” is how Richard Wald, a professor at Columbia Journalism School, described his appeal. “He knows the area, and he looks as though he knows the area. There have been anchors who haven’t.”